Thank you, Bill.

Carl's motorhome buyer's guide will be of great help I'm sure. There are a couple RV books out there that are considered to be quite comprehensive. I have two of them, although their titles escape me at the moment.

High dollar items on RV's are roof A/C's, refrigerators, generators, engine/transmission, tires, and roof leak damage (although Barth's would not be as subject to roof leaks as your average stick-and-staple RV... like mine, hehe). Diesel rigs get more complicated than some folks are used to, so make sure you do extra research there if you are pricing those.

If you are considering an RV that's been sitting unused for several years of its life, that could lead to problems once it gets put into regular service again. Seals, belts, gaskets, and tires all dry out over time and can start failing and creating all kinds of havoc. Low mileage is often NOT a good thing on older RV's for that reason.

I concur with scottydl on his last post about things wearing out. Many of my hoses are soft and spongy and are being replaced as I have time and the inclination (even though they are functioning now). The biggie, especially from a safety aspect are tires. Tires more than six years old are usually toast ... even if they have 100% tread on them. Goodyear tires are a good choice although I much prefer my Wanli tires from China. I have had both and the Wanli's seem to ride better and have more tread. Finding a local dealer may be an issue, however.

All around good advice scotty!

Carl

At minimum I would inspect the gas lines around the engine, better would be to replace them before you hit the road.

this is one thing I hope to attack this weekend or next

John

I may have found a cure for this illness. A 1984 28 footer that is only 35-40 mins away from the house. I am set to go look at it Saturday. I have my fingers and toes crossed. If nothing else, I will have a tag and some pics to share as well as a story.

Well, I made it home without a hitch. there seems to be a minor vibration when driving that I will have looked at soon. There is an alignment shop that balances tires while mounted here in town and it kind of felt like an unbalanced tire. Besides a good cleaning I know I need to:

1) Repair exhaust on genset and repair pullout drawer.
2) Fix short in fog lights.
3) Did I mention clean??
4) Clean old caulk from around windshield, repair any damage and reseal
5) have rear A/C checked out (supposed to be a capacitor)
6) Speedometer/cruise control

The main things I plan on doing that are extras are new flooring, lightening the wall coloring (possible wallpaper) and updating the upholstery. I may want to add a drop down bed up front and put in some flat screen TVs. The window tinting has faded to purple and will need to be removed and replaced with mirrored tint...that should look sweet with the polish job she is gonna get. This is gonna be fun!

Good deal, making it home safely! Try automatic wheel balancers like Centramatic on your wheels. They work great on our vehicles. Highly recommend them. Doris

I looked those up and they sound like a great deal. I found that the rear air works. Much relieved. Hopefully will get the genset pulled so I can get the pullout repaired. Then I can see how to repair the exhaust Mani.

"The Adventure Begins..."

Still looking for a cure, still barthless.

quote:

Originally posted by jsloan:
.... there seems to be a minor vibration when driving

Don't rule out dry U-joints in the driveshaft for driveline vibrations. I recently had the driveshaft down for emergency brake maintenance and found the front U-joint really tight and obviously needing to be overhauled. I greased it first thing after purchase but it hasn't woken up yet. I've greased it again making sure to see grease coming out of the the bearing cups that are tight. I'll replace it soon if it doesn't smooth out on the next test drive. Can't have that driveshaft flying apart!

Congratulations on your purchase. Can't wait to see some pictures. What model Barth did you get?

quote:

What model Barth did you get?

Its an 1984 28 foot Regal. Rear bath with the twin beds. I think my wife has now been bitten. We were out there tonight working a nd she was like...wow, this thing is really solid!